


Step by Step

by parallelanprincess



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Character Study, Falling In Love, M/M, Minor Violence, Pining, Pre-Canon, Young Armitage Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 20:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9784475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parallelanprincess/pseuds/parallelanprincess
Summary: The making of General Hux: a beginner's guide to how to become worthy of your true love.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thegoodlannister](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegoodlannister/gifts).



> This was a birthday gift for thegoodlannister who is far too kind to me.

The first time they meet is on Arkanis. 

The sun never shines on Arkanis.

Armitage Hux is a child of darkness.

The rain is falling down harder than usual, the gods themselves weeping at how far the House of Hux had fallen. The Outer Rim was supposed to be reserved for bandits, criminals on the run from the righteousness of the Empire. Now it is a haven for the very men who looked upon it with disdain. The rain falls down on former generals, commanders, and soldiers alike. On this backwater planet at the edge of the galaxy, a man can recognize his bastard son if only because he has no other choice. Brendol Hux hates the rain like he hates Armitage, a constant reminder of all he has lost. 

The roughshod training academy that’s been established by the imperial holdovers is cruel. The facilities are falling apart at the seams. The dormitories are repurposed prison cells. The Empire fell because its men and women were weak. Armitage’s generation will not be weak. They have already been forgotten by the decadent New Republic. Neither Organa’s Senate nor Skywalker’s Jedi Academy will be prepared for the First Order to come crawling out of the gutters like blind rats. 

There is no peace on Arkanis, there is only hunger. 

Armitage Hux knows only of starvation and ambition. He’s a lowborn runt amongst the long limbed, broad shoulders of the other cadets. His red hair a stark contrast to the brunette and blonde of his supposed betters. All of them are the same shade of pale, the effect of living on a planet with two moons and a sun perpetually hidden by clouds. The animals are savage and the planet life is nearly nonexistent. Hunting and scavenging for food is supposed to build character. Crawling in the mud, Armitage feels even more tainted then the cowards of the Republic. 

Is it any wonder he hates him on sight?

Vader’s heir looks like some ungainly mix of his criminal father and whore of a mother. His tan skin is unblemished, unscarred. Eyes too expressive,  mouth set in a deep frown. Arkanis is not so cold that the newcomer should feel the need to tremble. The thick, dark robes are surely warmer than Armitage’s patched, threadbare uniform. The cursed blood of the Jedi flows through his veins. The supposed Force rules over his life more predatory and unseen than Armitage’s instructors. Out of all the children in the galaxy, the Supreme Leader has chosen the most likely to betray them. This 

The Supreme Leader is wise.

Armitage knows this.

He knows that he is nineteen years old. He knows that his father is grooming him to be a general. He knows that the boy standing before him is important to the cause. Unlike Armitage, he is indispensible. 

Kylo Ren is the future of the First Order. For better or worse their fates are intertwined.

He extends his hand towards his destiny and speaks in the sharp, commanding tone of his teachers.

“My name is Armitage Hux. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 

Kylo Ren takes his hand cautiously. Armitage looks into his eyes and sees the same weakness that haunts him whenever he looks into a mirror. They aren’t strong enough. Not yet. They are standing in the shadows of their ancestors whether they want to or not. It doesn’t matter. 

Except it does.

They never really had a choice, did they? 

\---

The second meeting takes place on Delphon. 

The locals claim that it is the birthplace of Han Solo. The Millennium Falcon was built here. He married Organa in the quaint little chapel on the hillside. As the ideal travel destination for every smuggler in the Outer Rim, it makes sense that Delphon would make itself out to be more than a mining colony with a few bars and inn that functioned more as a brothel. 

The mines had been quickly abandoned due to how dangerous it was to obtain the rich ores deep within. Over the years many opportunistic bandits have wandered into the mouths of dark caves and never resurfaced. There are miles of iron below the surface for any fool desperate enough to dive into the abyss. The smarter smugglers stayed clear off the mines and conducted their business in one shady alley or another. It was a lost cause.

The First Order is not a lost cause. The First Order is desperate. 

Armitage has just been made lieutenant. He looked Sebastian straight in the eyes when he shot him with his blaster. Common courtesy dictated you let your opponent knew exactly whose name to be cursing in the afterlife. Promotions are hard to come by, climbing the career ladder requires a more hands on approach. Kylo Ren killed a dozen children who would have grown to be Jedi traitors.

It’s not a competition. 

He’s here because he needs a new lightsaber. The one Skywalker forced upon him is inadequate. Weak, temperamental, disobedient. It’s all the things that Armitage hears the senior commanders whisper about Snoke’s apprentice. He’s nothing more than a petulant child, an unworthy vessel for all their hopes and dreams. Kylo Ren does not have the ironclad grip on the Darkness that his grandfather possessed. Then again, even Vader fell to his own child in the end. 

Its rumored that one of the hundreds of mines has kyber crystals.  

They end up standing together at the mouth of yet another cave. Its has been two weeks and the guessing game is getting old quickly. The Force is a terrible compass. Armitage prefers it over the hard labor the other cadets are doing. Starships aren’t made out of nothing. Less than two days after the inhabitants were wiped out, the smugglers bargained with, and the alcohol commandeered by the senior commanders, the generation of bastards and rightful heirs had rushed in where scum dared not to tread. Harvesting the ore on Delphon would weed out the weak. Natural selection at its best. 

Somehow Armitage ended up being part of Kylo Ren’s escort. He is familiar enough with Snoke’s apprentice that his fear doesn’t show on his face. A small part hopes that he has been remembered. That among the countless other cadets introduced to nascent Sith Lord, it is Armitage’s face and name that have stuck out. His more than his father’s bastard after all. The others in the First Order still fail to understand that. They will learn soon enough.

Fruitless searches have worn Kylo down, Skywalker’s lightsaber sufficient enough to slash at stalactites and stalagmites alike. He knows this kind of rage. Disappointment in oneself. Armitage’s dorm wall had been littered with fist sized holes. He didn’t grow out of his tantrums. His father beat it out of him until he learned to hone the rage into a finely tuned instrument. Kylo Ren has not learned the same lessons he has. In his rage the apprentice is a breath of fresh air instead of a cause of concern. The raw emotion a blessed reprieve from the cold stoicism that they have been taught to adapt. Every time the lightsaber slashes at the air is another moment of light, of warmth. 

When a cluster of kyber crystal reveals itself after three hours of trekking in near darkness. The light was blinding. Armitage has a passing familiarity with sunlight but this is something else entirely. The brightness is so intense he wonders how it possibly took so long to find. As he watches Kylo Ren approach he notices that the apprentice seems to stand taller. He is walking with purpose. The efforts of his labors has finally paid of. Armitage feels as if he is intruding on a sacred ritual. 

He selects a crystal with a small crack. The only imperfection in the bunch. The apprentice removes his hands, he holds it reverently. It glows red. For the first time in their short acquaintance, Kylo Ren smiles. Red light highlights his gleeful face. He’s become paler, slimmer. His eyes carry a tiredness Armitage knows all too well.

He wants to stay by his side.

If this is where it all begins, he wants to see it through to the end. 

“Congratulations.” Hux’s voice cuts through the silence. 

The apprentice is startled. He has forgotten the men who have accompanied him here. The men who far more willing to die for a cause they have been told is just.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Hux.” 

It almost sounds right the way his title comes out of those pouty lips.

General will sound so much better. 

\---

At twenty-five years old, Armitage is the youngest colonel in the First Order. He and his father are the same rank. They are not equals. Brendol is the fast fading past, more of a useless relic than the priceless antique he prides himself as. Under his father’s guidance the stormtrooper program was revitalized because it worked out so well last time. At the very least they aren’t using some glorified bounty hunter as a template. No, the new stormtroopers will be brought into the First Order in the same manner as their commanders. 

They will be ripped from their cribs and thrown into a life of military service. They will be indoctrinated thoroughly and completely. The Supreme Leader will be their savior in a galaxy filled with chaos. No matter how well the stormtroopers serve they will always been canon fodder. So many steps below Armitage that he could crush them with his boot heel.

The stormtroopers are not his equals.

Neither is his father.

He thinks about Kylo Ren often. He wonders where in the galaxy the Supreme Leader is training him. It has been three years since he watched the apprentice forge a lightsaber with his own two hands, watched him create power out of imperfection. Armitage does not have many happy memories. The smile on Kylo Ren’s face the first time he saw joy not born out of cruelty. The first time he saw beauty. The first time he felt something in his cold, dark heart.

When he wraps his fingers around Colonel Brendol Hux’s neck, he thinks of Kylo Ren’s fingers intertwining with his. A bare hand wrapped around his glove as he was led out of the cave. He’s stronger now. 

He might finally be worthy of someone.

\----

He’s not Armitage, he is Hux. The one and the only. He’s not General Hux. Not yet. 

He has not found a kindred spirit. He has found an ally. He has found friendship in short platinum blonde hair and overly polished boots. Not many girls were taken to the Outer Rim, their mothers claimed they were too fragile, too precious. Their fathers agreed. So many imperial heiresses lost to the lawless New Republic. She is another rarity in the First Order’s life of scarcity. But that it slowly changing. The lean times are far behind them and for once the future doesn’t seem so nebulous.

He doesn’t know who her father is. He doesn’t know where she came from. He knows that she calls herself Phasma. In the end that’s all that matters. 

He is Hux. She is Phasma. 

He won’t be her right hand man. She won’t be his loyal mistress. 

They dream of a better galaxy. A time when the First Order surpass the Empire’s greatness. A vision of control, power, and stability they have never known. When they walk the halls of the starship Judicious, others whisper after them. Brains and brawn. Masculine and feminine. Other usual titles and traits that have no bearing on  them whatsoever. 

“The Supreme Leader has request my presence at 0600 hours,” Hux whispers. Keep walking and look straight ahead. Do not show weakness or uncertainty.

“He’s found out about your little idea then,” Phasma replies. 

“Of course, the Supreme Leader is omniscient. Perhaps, I will finally receive my due.”

“Or he could be ordering your execution. Pity. I’ve gotten used to you.”

“Your presence has made these few months tolerable.  I should be honored that he even acknowledges my existence.”

“Who else would babysit his Jedi pet when he comes calling. Don’t give me that look, Armitage. We both know I could take you down with ease.”

“My name is Hux. You know that.”

“Make General and maybe I might find that worth remembering.”

 

\----

The most important meeting takes place on the Finalizer. Hux has finally been made General. Starkiller Base’s construction is under construction. The Supreme Leader considers him to be a valuable asset to the First Order. He has nearly everything his always wanted. His years of suffering, planning, and waiting have finally gotten him to where he needs to be.

He is finally worthy.

When Mitaka announces Kylo Ren’s arrival, Hux merely nods. He will not crawl to his beloved like a worm. He will not stare into that the mask and beg for acceptance. Kylo Ren will view him as an equal or he will have to get the hell of Hux’s ship. 

The heavy footfalls and general sense of unease alerts Hux to his presence. He keeps his back turned to Kylo Ren, he must not appear needy. Hux is a general, not a sycophant nursing an adolescent crush.

“General Hux, we meet again. I was hoping we would have a chance to talk in private.”

His voice is deeper, richer now. It’s not the timid squeak from all those years ago. It sends shivers down his spine in a way that the winds of Arkanis never did. 

“This is rather short notice, Lord Ren. I’m afraid this will have to wait until after alpha shift.”

A rather drunk Phasma once told him that the best way to seduce a person was to play hard to get. Hux must live up to the image of a cold, emotionless machine devoted to the cause. It’s how he got this far.

“Understood, I will meet you in your quarters once you’ve finished.” 

Gods it sounds far more enticing than it should be.

 

\---

When his shift finally ends, he  heads to his quarters. If anyone notices Hux walking faster than usual, they are too afraid to admit it. Having to stop and acknowledge every stormtrooper who salutes him only slows him down, they’ll have to settle with a quick nod. Phasma can lecture him later about her beloved canon fodder.

His quarters are empty. Of course. Kylo Ren doesn’t have his access codes. Yet. This section of the ship was designated as living spaces for senior officers. Phasma was roomed somewhere down the corridor. Kylo Ren had opted to take the quarters to Hux’s right. It was mere coincidence. The Supreme Leader expect them to be co-commanders. Close proximity was for convenience's sake. 

He takes off his greatcoat and waits. He waits for the Force or whatever other mystical space magic to bring him what he’d wanted for so long. 

The knock on the door nearly makes him fall of his bed. He tries to compose himself and not have a heart attack. He unlocks the door without question. If this is anyone other than Kylo Ren they’re going to be demoted to janitorial. 

The Force user looming in his doorway shouldn’t look so appealing. His dark robes stand in stark contrast to the metallic gray’s of the ship’s interior.

“Lord Ren,” Hux greeted as he stepped aside to let him enter.

“No need to be so formal, General. We aren’t exactly strangers.” It’s the first time he’s mentioned their shared past. The first acknowledgement of those brief encounters throughout the years.

“I meant no disrespect. I thought-”

“You think too much.” Kylo sounded amused. 

Hux was ready to argue, ready to hide his embarrassment. He wasn’t ready to be toyed with. 

Kylo held up a hand when Hux opened his mouth to shout an insult. The apprentice lowered his cowl for the first time since boarding the Finalizer. In that moment he looked more like his grandfather than ever before. Hux heard faint clicking sounds as Kylo began removing his helmet. 

His hair had gotten darker, the short curls had grown into wavy locks. His face still possessed that damnable softness despite how angular his chin was. Hux had seen those lips in far too many fantasies through the years to be annoyed by the smirk on Ren’s lips.

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” he whispered, taking a gloved hand to caress Hux’s face.

“Call me Kylo. After all, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. I have a feeling we’re going to get to know each other very intimately.”

General Armitage Hux has waited his entire life for this moment.

He kisses Kylo softly.

They are going to save the galaxy.

Together.   
  



End file.
